1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage and/or transport container of plastics material. The container has a rectangular bottom and two longitudinal side walls and two transverse side walls extending upwardly from the rectangular bottom. The upper edges of the side walls define a rectangular opening having a size greater than the rectangular bottom. Two support or beam members are hinged to the container adjacent the upper edges of the transverse side walls. The support members can be swung from a position in which they leave the rectangular opening clear up to the transverse side walls into a position in which they are located in the rectangular opening adjacent to the transverse side walls so as to partially bridge the opening. In the second position, the distance between the sides of the support members facing each other is smaller than the width of the container bottom between the two transverse side walls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Storage and/or transport containers of the above-described type are known. These containers are used when it is desired to stack unfilled or empty storage and/or transport containers in as space saving a manner as possible, while they can also be stacked in a safe and stable manner when they are filled with goods.
In the first situation, the support members which are hinged on are swung into the position in which they leave the rectangular opening clear up to the transverse side walls. In the second situation, the support members are swung into the position in which they partially bridge the rectangular opening adjacent the transverse side walls. In the latter case, the support members form a stable support for stacking another storage and/or transport container thereon.
Storage and/or transport containers of the above-described type in which not only the container itself but also the hinged support members are molded articles of plastics material, particularly polypropylene, have already been in use for a considerable time in Great Britain and Canada.
However, these known storage and/or transport containers have the disadvantage that the hinged support members are completely exposed on the outer side of the transverse side walls when they are in the position in which they leave the rectangular container opening clear up to the transverse side walls, while the support members rest on the upper edges of the side walls also completely exposed in the position in which they partially bridge the container opening.
The known arrangement of the hinged support members has the additional disadvantage that the storage and/or transport containers of plastics material must have corner regions with sharp edges and, therefore, are not very suitable for being used dynamically on transport and conveying units, because the corner regions with sharp edges of successive storage and/or transport containers tend to hook together in curved and on inclined portions of the conveying systems, so that the further transport of the containers is endangered or impaired.
It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to improve a storage and/or transport container of the above-described type. Specifically, the hinged support members are to be placed in a protected manner within the given container contours in both possible positions of the support members. In addition, it should be possible to use the hinged support members in storage and/or transport containers which have rounded-off corner regions at least in the wall portions thereof adjacent the rectangular openings.